IS Tank, Exercise in Frustration

Need some help folks, I’m about 44k XP into the IS and I’m watching my win rate plummet (41% and dropping). I can’t get anywhere with this tank, and am almost of the opinion that it’s worse than the KV-85. I’m running a BIA crew with a female commander with 6S. I’m also using the top turret with the 100mm gun.

What’s the best best way to play this thing? It seems the armor is paper. Brawling on corners earns me a quick trip to the garage, and if I hang back, I can’t support the rest of the team.

I’ve watched Jingles and QB discuss the tank, but everything online is out of date. Any advice would be appreciated.

First, watch a real unicum play the tank. QB is a scam. Jingles is a fun guy to watch. Look for Zeven_Na, Circon, SirFoch, and Orzanel. As for the IS, use the 122 mm D-25T. Much better for that tanks playstyle. Learn to sidescrap, and when to not poke.

I think the IS has just been power creeped a bit, I personally prefer the 100mm to the 122mm. It really comes down to how you want to play the tank. The 122mm is better for trading close up fights, the 100mm is better for mid range fights.

Though your best bet is to figure out where you are struggling with that tank. I see that your still newish to tier eight and up, so you still have weak spots on higher tiers to get down. Which with the really poor pen on the gun you really need to know those weak spots.

If you want some more help let me know, I can dust off my IS and do a platoon sometime.

The IS is an odd tank. In general, you want to play opportunistically, meaning that you try to look for good trades instead of straight-up brawling. The 122mm is definitely the easier gun to use, so I suggest you switch to that. As Illusive_Man said, QB tends to be unreliable, and Jingles is...Jingles. I couldn't find a good IS guide, but I found this SirFoch review of the premium IS-2:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANCTABGaCJo

Basically, do what SirFoch does in the vid, with your 122m IS, and you'll be doing things right. Notice that he basically uses his teammates as meat shields, which is the best way of compensating for your paper armor. Also, not aiming your shots, as Foch jokes about, is actually the correct way to play the IS, because most of the time you can't afford to take any unnecessary hits; your hitpoints are more important than consistently hitting your shots (which won't happen anyway, because Russia).

The IS is a tank that excels at dominating tier 7 games and excels at being mediocre in any other type of match. Really It just comes down to the match you get as to whether or not you can have a good game